


What Have You Done

by RaychDZeros



Category: MapleStory
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2016-11-06
Packaged: 2018-08-29 10:33:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8485963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaychDZeros/pseuds/RaychDZeros
Summary: Damien hadn't expected to live. But a sacrifice by someone he held dear made it happen.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for a friend, I guess I'll just post it here for the sake of letting more people read?

He knew that his brother had killed him. It was something he had accepted. But, looking around in the empty space he was currently at, Damien wondered if he’ll even be able to meet his mother in the afterlife after all the crimes he had committed. Perhaps it was his fate to be alone forever… **  
**

_“Hey, weedhead.”_

The familiar voice came out of nowhere, startling him. “Alicia?” He questioned as he turned to face the Transcendent. He didn’t mind the nickname since it had become a familiar comfort to him to hear it; something like an affectionate title just for him. Now that the Spirit of Vengeance was no longer clouding his mind, he could hear the sentiment in the once offensive nickname.

The girl smiled at his shock, choosing to drift closer to him. She was in the very same outfit he had last seen her in, eyes warm with affection.

“Alicia… What - why are you here? Don’t tell me… I really killed you?”

## He had lied to Arkarium about consuming her.

He had merely consumed most of her powers, binding her spirit to the Transcendent Rock in a desperate measure to have her stay with him. Then he had her body hidden away somewhere in the World Tree, hiding the knowledge of where she was at deep within his own mind, hidden from even the Vengeance Spirit so that he wouldn’t hurt Alicia in his eventual madness.

_But to see her now, looking so fragile and faded? It made him fear the worst._

She shook her head, drifting close to him as she did so. “Hush now you silly worrywart. My body is still safe where you hid me. I’m just here to talk to you one last time.”

“… Alicia, are you here to send me into the actual afterlife then?” He questioned, confusion clear in his voice.

Alicia just looked utterly grieved as she looked away from Damien. “You never deserved such a fate in the first place. If it weren’t for this awful war and Arkarium’s betrayal, you would have just led a peaceful life free from destiny. Unfortunately, due to the greedy actions of Arkarium, you and your family suffered so much which led to your untimely death.”

Damien just blinked. He hadn’t expected Alicia to feel so strongly about this.

“Oi, it’s my life, no need to be so upset.” He replied.

Alicia glared at him.

“Look, I’ve decided! I’m going to make up for what I can by fulfilling your brother’s wish.”

There was an odd tone in her voice which raised his suspicions, making him look closer at her. “… Alicia, what did he wish for?” There was something not right in her smile, the painful longing in her eyes as she didn’t venture closer to him despite his defenseless state.

She produced a familiar red scarf in response. “He wanted you to have this,” Alicia answered her voice light and with an innocent air.

With a start, he realized he didn’t have his scarf, only a simple attire of a plain shirt and trousers. So with trembling hands, he gently took hold of the scarf again, looking down at it with a touch of awe. It looked the same as the day he got it as if the years of wear and tear had never affected it. It was even clean and free of any patches. He looked up again, intending to thank Alicia, only to give way to a shout of horror when he saw the world they were in started breaking apart

He looked around wildly as the fragmenting didn’t stop, cracking noises sounding throughout the area while visible cracks showed up everywhere.

“Alicia! What’s going on?!”

The Transcendent didn’t answer, choosing instead to look at him with that damn smile that looked so utterly sad yet relieved.

##  _“Alicia… WHAT’S GOING ON?”_

A tired sigh. “The Demon wished for you to live once more. But since you’re already dead, I told him that the price for your life again was that of one willingly given. Thus, he offered his own soul in response.”

**“I refused.”**

“I knew what would happen if you had lived and your brother died. I knew you would have eventually taken your own life just to be with your family once more as you can’t bear to be alone, so I’ve decided to pay the price for your life in another way.”

She began fading as she explained, pulling away from Damien.

In an act of desperation, he lunged forward to grab at her with an outstretched hand.

His hand did not meet warm flesh. Instead it passed through her as if she was a ghost.

“Alicia… What - what have you done?”

She smiled, looking oh so sad yet so tired at his shock.

“If I’d stayed at the World Tree, I would have been alone forever, waiting for the day you return to me if you ever decided to be reincarnated for another chance at life. Instead, I’ve decided that you can have the remnants of my power and spirit. Be the Transcendent of Life Damien. Be the Transcendent I never got to be.”

**“I, Alicia, willingly give my soul and power to Damien the half demon to be the new Transcendent of Life. So mote it be.”**

With that proclamation uttered she faded till only her weary face was visible.

##  _NOONONNONONONONONNONONO-!_

**“Alicia! NO! DON’T LEAVE ME!”** He screamed. **“Alicia! I love you so PLEASE! DON’T LEAVE ME!!”**

Upon hearing his desperate confession, her face seemed to break into a true smile even as he felt a great force pulling him away from the person he loved oh so dearly. It suffocated him and pressed down on his chest, making him feel lightheaded.

Just as his world turned dark from the suffocating force, he caught sight of what would be his last vision of Alicia.

_ “I’m so happy, Damien. I really love you as well.” _

And with that last whisper, she was gone.

With a heaving gasp, he woke, tearing free of what seemed to be branches and leaves in his way. He was greeted by the sight of his brother’s shocked expression, the demon’s face paler than usual.

“She actually - Damien, you’re alive!”

Damien ignored the words, looking around wildly at what seemed to be the forests of Leafre. The sight of burned down cottage in ruins told him that he was back at home. Then his senses alerted him to a small object in his hand, the very same hand he had used to try and grab at Alicia.

Looking down at his hand, he saw that it clenched tightly into a fist. Damien slowly opened it up, revealing a cracked purple rock with a leafy plant wrapped tightly around it. As he stared at what seemed to be a shard of the Transcendent Rock, a sudden embrace caught him by surprise, making him tense up.

The older demon had hugged Damien, the wet warmth alerting him to the fact that his big brother, his oh so strong and confident big brother, was actually crying.

He slowly brought his arms around his brother as well, rock still in hand as his good eye filled with tears.

He hugged his brother hesitantly. “I - I’m alive… But Alicia -! She-!” He couldn’t bring himself to say the words, to admit the truth despite it having happened.

Demon pulled back to cup Damien’s face, crimson eyes looking at the confused Damien. “I went to find the Transcendent to beg for your life. I argued with her, saying that you should never have died since it was the Spirit of Vengeance that cursed you. She… She agreed with me. And told me that though her powers are limited, she had one last way to try and revive you. But the price would be heavy. So I told her I’ll offer all I could to bring you back, including my very life if need be.”

“But she denied me, saying that she’ll do it another way that didn’t require my life. Then she… Her spirit entered your body, those branches grew over you and the next thing I know, you’re here - Damien she actually resurrected you but… She’s not… Here…”

Damien stared at his brother dazedly. “She… Gave me her life. She traded her life for mine and made me the new Transcendent of Life…” Broken laughter spilled from his lips as he hunched over the rock shard.

##  _“ALICIA YOU FUCKING BITCH FUCK YOU FOR DOING THIS TO ME WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GIVE UP YOUR LIFE FOR MINE ALICIA COME BACK TO ME PLEASE!”_

And so the older Demon could only watch in helpless confusion as his dearly beloved younger brother hugged the rock shard close to himself and cursed with tearstained eyes the very same Transcendent that had brought him back to life.

##  ** EPILOGUE **

Twas the night of a full moon for once, the skies clear of any storms. Two brothers carefully made their way up the cursed World Tree, the Demon Slayer easily defeating the possessed soldiers in his defense of his brother.

On the other hand, Damien was still adjusting to his new powers.

Apparently, by consuming most of Alicia’s powers, he had been marked as the new Transcendent. Despite his death, Alicia’s actions in willingly sacrificing herself for Damien had, surprisingly enough, automatically made him the new Transcendent of life despite him being a half Demon.

_At least, that’s what the Time twins told him. The boy, Alpha, had looked disgruntled at him being the new Transcendent. Beta however had seemed curious and ready to interrogate him over this. She never got the chance to ask Damien any questions though, thanks to the grumpy Alpha dragging her away._

He was brought out of his musings by the Demon Slayer landing in front of him, wings folding back with ease. “The road ahead is clear Damien. Are we close to where you left Miss Alicia?” The demon asked. Damien nodded wordlessly.

**If it had been up to him, he would have never returned to the place of his death. Still, he wanted to see Alicia, to make sure she was truly - well - gone.**

And so, with a tired sigh, he led the way to a hidden nook. When he had used Alicia’s powers to create the Tree, he had been desperate for time as well. After all, he had known that by taking the Rock, he would get the Heroes attention on himself and they’ll try to hunt him down to prevent more destruction. So he had taken advantage of the twisted branches to hide Alicia’s body in the Tree itself, making use of his stolen magic to force the Tree into hiding Alicia. Thus the dark environment and the sickly branches had served to cover up a small cave in the Tree trunk which parted at his presence. The Tree itself was also healing steadily as he lingered more.

**It was yet another reminder that he was now the God/Transcendent of Life.**

“Brother, stay out here. I’ll go in and bring her out.” Damien ordered. The Demon nodded, taking on an alert stance as his eyes scanned their surroundings warily.

Stepping into the small nook without a word, the young God made his way in slowly due to the lack of light.

He knew the route well anyways, so the darkness didn’t bother him. Still, he needed some form of light to see where Alicia was. Thus, he awkwardly summoned a glowing flower to light his way, the small light serving to light his steps. It didn’t take him long before he found what he was looking for thanks to the light, so he knelt down and scooped his precious cargo into his arms with a tired sigh.

Without leaving himself a chance to hesitate, he stepped out of the darkness into the light where Demon had awaited him. In the light, Damien couldn’t deny the truth any longer and looked down into the peaceful face of Alicia. At first glance, it would have appeared she was asleep, eyes closed with a resigned smile on her lips.

**He knew better than to trust the lie, the dead weight and unresponsiveness of her body telling him everything.**

With yet another tired sigh, he nodded to his brother who began to dig a grave as previously planned. Damien put Alicia down as well, helping to dig and lay aside the dirt. When the grave was done, Damien picked Alicia up, slowly lowering her into the hole. The shard of rock that he had woken up with was placed in as well, arranged carefully on Alicia’s arms which were crossed together.

Once satisfied, he began filling the grave once more. A sudden realization came to him, making him realize there was no marker for Alicia. With an annoyed huff, he walked out to snap two branches free, a vine serving to tie them into a cross. Then he stuck the makeshift cross just behind the head of the grave. Then he continued filling the grave, ignoring his brother’s questioning gaze.

Once done, Demon was the one who stepped away respectfully, leaving Damien alone with the now filled grave. Damien didn’t speak for awhile, though, choosing to just sit on the bare ground with a tired sigh. After all, he had been doing plenty of hard work with the grave digging then filling.

A quick glance at the sky showed that it was looking to be another dark day again.

He didn’t say a word at first, simply choosing to lay a hand on the mound of dirt that was Alicia’s grave. Then he spoke,his voice soft with exhaustion. “Why… Why did you leave me? Why did you have to trade your life for mine? I’m not worth it… Dammit, you stupid girl! Why didn’t you think?!”

_“But… Somehow… A part of me… It feels relieved. Relieved to have a chance at life. I just wish… I wish it didn’t come at the cost of your life. ”_

“Anyways… I’ll leave you alone now. I won’t be the same asshole as before who tormented you so much. My brother says that your soul has left the Tower as well. And that I may need to go visit it to make sure the protections stay in place. Who knows, I may end up staying there just to make sure all the animals you left me don’t run rampant.” With a tired sigh, he got up, dusting himself off. “I don’t know if I’ll come back to this place Alicia, but if I ever do, I’ll make sure to pay you a visit.”

“Oh, and I won’t be needing this anymore. I don’t plan on hiding my blind eye so I might as well leave it here where I won’t be reminded of my past actions.” He carefully took out the eye patch and the bandages from his jacket. They had served their purpose in hiding his bad eye, but were no longer needed. So he left them draped over the cross, looking over the small grave site with a tired look in his eye. With a shake of his head, he turned to leave.

And so Damien left the grave site, not allowing himself to turn back for fear that he’ll stay behind and never be able to leave the place where his heart would forever remain.

_Unbeknownst to him, a single flower bloomed into life at the head of the small grave, opening to reveal an unfurled rose that was as red as the dress of a certain woman and the leaves as green as her eyes. A spirit appeared, watching him leave with a longing smile._

_ **‘Goodbye then, Damien.'** _

_The soft whisper was lost to the wind and the spirit disappeared as fast as it appeared, the only sign of her brief presence being the blooming rose._

 

**And so ends the tale of two lovers,**

**their love a tragedy,**

**their future never to be.**

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this! Leave a comment/kudo to boost me further? OwO


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